NEW DELHI: Those who loved petrol, scoffed at it, and those who admired diesel ridiculed it as its poor cousin. But no more. Increasingly worried over frequent rise in the prices of petrol and diesel, car buyers have fallen in love with compressed natural gas (CNG) that offers higher fuel efficiency and lower running cost. And carmakers are quick to take note of this trend.

"We were expecting this to happen, that's why our CNG-based models have been consistently doing well. But the recent demand has increased the waiting period for CNG models, says Maruti Suzuki India CGM (Marketing) Shashank Srivastava. India's largest carmaker launched five petrol cars-Sx4, Alto, WagonR, Estilo and Eeco -with CNG-integrated injectors in November last year to cater to the demand for the clean fuel-fitted vehicles among customers in urban markets.

Working their strategies around shifting consumer behaviour in urban areas, several carmakers have now loaded CNG technology into their popular models such as Hyundai Accent, GM Aveo, Toyota Innova and Corolla, Tata Indica and Indigo in order to tap the growing demand for the cleanest and cheapest fuel, which is now available only in Delhi, Mumbai, Agra and Gujarat.

While Maruti is planning to extend the CNG technology to its other models, GM India is planning to roll out new cars such as Beat on the same fuel.

In fact, country's second largest carmaker-Hyundai Motor India-is witnessing a revival in demand for its CNG models.

"We have seen a revival in demand for the Accent CNG, which now has a waiting period, as customers are shifting to cheaper fuel options, says Hyundai director for marketing & sales Arvind Saxena.

Cheaper running cost has been influencing customer decision and the market was gradually moving towards diesel cars, but recent hike in its price has made CNG the best fuel option.

While it costs 4.40 per kilometre to run a petrol version of Maruti Sx4, the diesel variant costs 2.40. Now compare this with a CNG version that costs only 1.50 per km! No wonder, car buyers in National Capital Region have lapped up CNG models over the last year. Sale of CNG-fitted cars in NCR has jumped 43% over the last year to touch 4.5-lakh mark by May-end this year.

Even though electric cars such as Reva have a running cost of around 50 paise per km, they are largely unviable due to the huge battery cost and lack of charging options.

Reva's ex-showroom price of around 4-lakh makes it much expensive than popular five-seater like the WagonR that starts at 3.3 lakh in Delhi.

Despite its limited availability, auto analysts feel that CNG has now become reliable as well as popular among car users.

"There is great push for cars offering lower running cost. CNG-based technology has been consistently reliable in India for the past decade, which has become popular as companies have launched the technology in their popular cars," says Abdul Majeed partner automotive practice with PWC.